Five Score in Double-Figures to Lead Upstate Past Toccoa Falls
11/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Deion Holmes registered his fourth straight game with at least 20 points as five players scored in double-figures to lead the USC Upstate men's basketball team to its first victory of the season with a 101-54 win over the Toccoa Falls Screaming Eagles Monday evening inside the Hodge Center.
Upstate improves to 1-7 overall and will start a two-game road trip Wednesday as it makes the short trip to Greenville to face Clemson at 7 p.m. from Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The Spartans recorded over 100 points in a game for the first time since scoring 101 against Montreat on Dec. 30, 2014, and also had five players post at least 10 points for the first time since that same Montreat contest.
Holmes had a game-high 20 points to go with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. He continued his impressive mark at the free-throw line by going 4-for-4 and has now made 21 of his last 22 attempts.
Josh Cuthbertson added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting; while Jacob Schulte and Ramel Thompkins each had 13, and Michael Buchanan contributed a season-high 11 off the bench. Mike Cunningham had six assists and five steals, and Malik Moore tallied six steals and five assists, becoming the first players since Ty Greene last season versus Montreat to have five or more steals in a game.
Zach Barrett led Toccoa Falls with 12 points and Cam Williams added 11. Barrett also had nine rebounds and seven assists.
Connor Iverson scored four of the game's opening six points as the Screaming Eagles began the contest on a 6-0 run. Josh Folwell's jumper at the 18:10 mark put Toccoa Falls ahead by six.
Upstate responded with a 23-8 run over nearly an eight minute stretch to take a 23-14 lead with 10:46 remaining on a jumper by Cuthbertson. Holmes' three with 9:05 to go put the Spartans in front 28-18 and would lead by double-digits the rest of the contest. Upstate took its largest lead of the half with just under three minutes left before halftime as a layup by Moore made the score 44-25. Schulte kept the margin at 19 with 12 seconds left after his dunk extended the Spartan lead to 50-31 heading into the break.
Upstate started the second half on a 12-2 run over the first 3:14 to extend its lead to 62-33. Holmes scored seven points during the stretch as his layup at the 16:46 mark gave the Spartans a 62-33 lead. Toccoa Falls would only get as close as 25 after baskets over its next two possessions when Barrett made it 62-37 following his field goal with 15:46 remaining.
The Screaming Eagles would be held scoreless over the next 3:05 by Upstate as it built its lead to 70-37 after Buchanan's basket. The Spartans led by at least 30 for the final 11:09 as they held Toccoa Falls to just 12 points during that stretch.
Upstate scored the game's final nine points over the last 1:15 and took its largest lead at 101-54 with 17 seconds to go. Blake Edwards' first field goal as a Spartan, a three-pointer, gave them the 47-point victory. Thompkins added four of the points while Moore had two.
Upstate finished the game shooting 58.3% (42-of-72), and held Toccoa Falls to 35.3% (24-of-68) overall and 9.5% (2-of-21) from three.
The Spartans held a 48-35 advantage in rebounds and forced the Screaming Eagles into 32 turnovers. Upstate led 43-16 in points off turnovers, 24-8 in second chance points and 20-2 in fast break points.
The Spartans also set a Division I era record with 26 steals on Monday while tying the mark for most field goals in a game with 42.
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